Problem: The early supported discharge (ESD) allows people with sustained a stroke to receive rehabilitation services at home. Telerehabilitation could be integrated in the ESD services in order to meet Canadian best practices.
Objective: The aim of the study was therefore to assess the feasibility of implementing telerehabilitation in the ESD and document its impact on patients, relatives, clinicians, managers and the use of resources in the health system.
Methodology: unique cases studies with a mixed design was carried out. The implementation period is 16 months. ESD clinicians (n = 6) were trained to use telerehabilitation in their practice in order to recruit at least 10 patients and their families. Administrative data, standardized questionnaires (pre-post), individual interviews (patients, relatives) and focus group interviews (workers) will be used to meet the objectives. The administrative data will be the subject of descriptive analyzes, the scores on the questionnaires will be compared by non-parametric tests and the qualitative data will be analyzed by thematic analysis.
Expected results: The combination of ESD and telerehabilitation will allow the patients to receive their treatments at the appropriate time, the benefits of rehabilitation will be similar to those of regular ESD and the costs related to the patient’s rehabilitation will be reduced.
Conclusion: The results of this study will contribute to the implementation of telerehabilitation in other rehabilitation programs.